Pro-Palestine faculty at Chicago University prevent police action on student protestors

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A tense weekend ended at the University of Chicago after pro-Palestine faculty intervened and averted an expected police action on protesting students.

A group of over 120 University of Chicago Faculty members held a press conference on Monday morning at the university’s main quad to express their support to students protesting at the quad against Israeli attacks on Gaza, and to criticize the University management’s alleged threat of police action against the protestors.

Responding to a press release by the faculty group, the University issued a response saying “it had not sent any communication regarding a midnight deadline for the (Gaza solidarity) encampment to end”.

The protesting faculty however claimed the university management had verbally told the students that the police would move in if the students didn’t end their encampment of the university quad by midnight on Sunday.

Indeed, the weekend of May 4-5 the campus was abuzz with rumors that the police would move in. These fears gained ground, especially after a Friday email to all students from the president of the University, Paul Alivisatos ended as follows: “On Monday, I stated that we would only intervene if what might have been an exercise of free expression blocks the learning or expression of others or substantially disrupts the functioning or safety of the University. Without an agreement to end the encampment, we have reached that point.”

The faculty group called UChicago Faculty For Justice In Palestine (FJP), along with the students have been asking the University to sever all connections with Israel and to withdraw the university’s monies from funds like Vanguard and Pimco, that have exposure to weapons manufacturers like Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, whose weapons, the FJP claims, are being used in Gaza.

The FJP and the students are also demanding that the Chicago Quantum Exchange, a body which facilitates collaborative research into quantum computing along with Israeli institutions like the Weizmann Institute and the Technion, end such collaborations. The pro-Palestine faculty and student groups are also demanding that faculty invited from Israel to teach certain courses, should be stopped from teaching henceforth.

Pro-Palestine students have been occupying the university’s main quad area since April 29 in a largely peaceful demonstration of solidarity. The only concerning incident was on Friday afternoon when pro-Israeli students confronted the pro-Palestine supporters in the quad area, but no violence was reported.

The pro-Palestine group occupying the quad, importantly have even a group of Jewish supporters.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow